The Last Kingwar
Overview The Last Kingwar is a (as of now, still-ongoing) tabletop role-playing game ran largely in the Pathfinder game engine. It is the first of The Ultimaverse's Key Trilogy, with the "main" route leading directly into the events of Babylon, which in turn leads to the events of Hero's Path. As a Pathfinder game, which makes reasonably heavy use of adapted 3.0/3.5 Edition Dungeons and Dragons material, this verse might reasonably be classified as an iteration of D&D Homebrew. Story (Currently, a work in progress.) Important Terminology The Cycle of Kings: alternatively, the Kingwar Cycle, or simply The Cycle: is a state of being that has overtaken the world since the Convergence came upon the First World. As a result of the Cycle, an entirely new reality, complete with apparently endless planes of being woven into an intricate cosmology, came into being. The entire breadth, it could be said, of endless conscious imagination was wished into being, a self-perpetuating stream of being that used the observation and imagination of the people of the First World to ensure its survival. However, its "false" nature resulted in a sort of fragility that all of the constituent worlds shared- the Cycle itself was a seal on a wound to the world that led to the Endless Dust. The First World: The First World, put simply, is our own, real world. In the year 1911, Magic was rediscovered within ruins in the Arabic desert, resulting in a cataclysmic event known as the Convergence that beckoned forth the beings within Mankind's nightmares and suppressed subconsciousness, threatened to bring an end to all life. The only recourse left for what few survivors were fortunate enough to understand the prerequisite rituals was to forge a contract with the Breathshaper Nymrell- the sole benefactor spirit released from this event- to freeze the First, "Real" World in time, and create a new world in which mortal beings, over the course of countless iterations of millennia of human history, would re-equip themselves with the know-how to save their world for good. The Endless Dust: Little is known about what is called the Endless Dust, save that it is Not. That is, what falls to The Endless Dust remains as such- absolutely, a True Death from which no one and nothing has ever recovered. It is said that The First, the progenitor of all Soul (and its negative counterpart, Null: the two component building blocks of all naturally-occurring sapience) in the world, was sealed away within The Endless Dust by its children, Soul and Null, after their birth... and if the trembling of the scar the Convergence left on reality is any indication, desires to tear the boundary between the two apart. Genesis: This boundary manifests as an immense black gate, called Genesis, within the Astral Plane. Five pieces of this gate broke away and scattered- each serve as keys to this gate. One of the first Risen Kings, Azure, is a bearer of one such Black Blade- the other four have spent much of their history scattered, passing to and from other wielders' hands. Petitioner: A Petitioner is an individual recognized by the Cycle for their strength of will and providence, a sort of individual appointed to cross paths with the mythic spark that allows one to transcend their ordinary existence. Petitioners, in a sense, are the product of a system that allows (the best that it can) for individuals to "choose themselves", and shape their lives in accordance with what their soul holds to be true independent of destinies imposed upon them. Sometimes, however, the World makes mistakes, though the results have not been so disastrous that it resulted in a complete failure of this new world to reincarnate, at the end of one of its Cycles. Risen King: When a Petitioner locates and defeats a great, powerful being sent by the World to test its inner spark, it ascends to the status of Risen King, a being capable of properly wielding Mythic Power. The soul of multiple Risen Kings can even replicate feats of immense, godlike power, such as resetting the multiverse for a new Cycle. Soul: One of The First's twin children, born from its tearing its own body into two pieces in a vain attempt to "free" the pure, grey core within. An accumulation of archetypal Order, all attributes that sapient life might associate with 'light', and nemesis to its twin, Null. Invented life as its Servants to conquer Null. Null: Soul's twin and counterpart. An accumulation of archetypal Chaos, all attributes that sapient life might associate with 'darkness', and nemesis to Soul. When Soul invented living things to serve it, Null responded in kind with a mechanism that might corrode the fires of their essence, and cool their souls into a Null. The Isocate: The twenty New Gods, that rose from the ranks of the living and overthrew Soul and Null in order to win the autonomy of their kin. In this last, final Kingwar Cycle, it would seem, the Isocate themselves are dying, their divinity fading and priests losing the powers of their faith in mass faith-crisis epidemics. Kingsblood Shard: An artifact said to be formed of the lifeblood of Soul, Null, and/or one of the Isocate, spilled into the sky as starlight during the Isocate's rebellion. Thirty-two are known to exist, and have organized themselves into Color and "Position" alike the pieces of a chessboard, information that they impart as intuition to their wielders- it is believed that collecting multiple "pieces" of a set one possesses the proper spiritual affinity for might The Astral: The manifestation of all of sapient life's subconscious, suppressed thoughts, forgotten thoughts, fears, and nightmares, coalesced into being around the gate, Genesis, that lies at its core. Not inherently a vile place, though its nature tends to produce the horrific essences known as the Qliphoth more often than it does anything of comfort. The Tane: The "light-side" counterpart to The Astral, where dreams and imagination run rampant. It is here that the fae are formed from such imaginations, and visit their mortal creators in the material world- but without approaching too closely- such that they might be renewed, and inspire coming generations to continue to cultivate instances of the mythic spark. In this way, it plays an important role in continuing the longevity of the world. Aurii: An Aurii, or Guardian Beast, is a being sent by the World to test the mettle of the Petitioners to whom they are bound- either by being sought out, or, if forced to, by force and violence as enacted upon the land and its people. The individual personalities and aspirations of these Aurii are as varied as the Petitioners that seek them out, but all have invariably been supremely powerful. Upon its defeat, an Aurii will fuse with the soul of a Petitioner, that fusion being the catalyst that allows the soul to become a Risen King. The Risen King, among the other powers they inherit, will retain the ability to call upon the power of their Aurii in a great summoning, though this weakens them considerably for a time. Where This Fits Into The Larger Ultimaverse As the first of the Key Trilogy of the Ultimaverse, as mentioned before, the "main" canon storyline to this Verse leads into the events of Babylon, following it as the second of the trilogy. However, this is an RP in progress, of course- as a result, the ending that I end up achieving with my players may wind up dramatically different than the "main" ending. Whether this story relates at all to other Verses within the broader Ultimaverse, or branches off into different "Routes", remains to be seen. Power of the Verse The verse so far has largely demonstrated feats on-par with those "canon" to the role-playing game engine (Pathfinder) it is run within. Its nature as a high/epic fantasy, however, has allowed it more leeway in some regards with the scale of what sort of feats can be seen, especially within the lore of the characters and within "cinematic" narrative segments (as opposed to those run strictly within the game mechanics.) The latest Aurii battle, and most over-the-top of all, even showcased feats on a world-breaking scale- a measuring bar for the verse's top-most Tiers. The presence of multitudes of individual component multiverses within the fabric of the Cycle of Kings implicates the presence of higher-dimensional reality warping in effect within the verse, as well, though nothing (as of yet, at least) that would even remotely translate to raw destructive potential. Characters Current Petitioners *Adrian Xaulles *Barry *Bing *Brave *Corvus *Galen *Kaitlyn Rosenwind *Versilius *Yellow Jacket Other Player Characters/Cohorts *Bong *Crusader Gorm *Deus Ex Machina *Estor *Flower Prince Darius *Gorzuul *Solas *Ulin-Kalsais Cycle-Affiliated *Astaroth *Azure *Breathshaper Nymrell *Celenus *Fateweaver Andromeda *Father Chains *Nevermore *Rozalyn Blackwell *Varitz Iestheid Allies *Abria Curae *Astrid *Blaine *Court Mage Kilroy *Goldhanded Brahmera *Khufu *Martonus *Nago *Rikael *Ser Robert Dogwood *Seraph *Stabby the Kobold *Tachiya Lazarus *Tachiya Soemon *Tidelord Maria Sophrizt *Victor Blades of Dawn *Ciosarnh the Muse *Cipher *Diosceles the Dominus *Dread Captain Irons *King Eowyn *Tachiya Nagato *Tiamat *Veleth The King's Cure *Axel *Kayne "Gun" Maximilian *Kordall Ironheart *Leah *Varrian *Zasha Adversaries *Amon of the Eighth Hell *Cassius *Dawnward King Grael *Grandmaster Talcyon *Hector, Captain of the Watch *Lars of Sisyphil *Niah *Samrata *Shadowsnatcher Irisiel *Tataka *Tidelord Ravthis *Yzearda Sophrizt Aurii *''redacted'' *Cathedral Nemesis *''redacted'' *Orphion and Ouroboros *''redacted'' *Taurfirion Other *Akira Kaguri *Garth Windstep *Lieutenant Sinh *Lord Oxiton *Lucius of Moderlus *Mayor Vilbury *The Queen of Clocks *The Thriae Empress *Tidelord Nauss *Vel of Aslere (This list is incomplete.) Category:Verses Category:Roleplays Category:The Ultimaverse Category:D&D Homebrew